A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., 1993–1994 | National Humanities Center

A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. (NHC Fellow, 1993–94)

Project Title

Race and the American Legal Process

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

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Fellowship Work Summary, 1993–94

A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. finished four chapters of his book, Shades of Freedom (Oxford University Press); drafted portions of an autobiography to be published by Knopf; worked on two chapters of a volume on Justice Clarence Thomas's performance on the United States Supreme Court; completed "Shaw v. Reno: A Mirage of Good Intentions with Devastating Racial Consequences" (Fordham Law Review); and wrote an introduction to The New South Africa: The Dawn of Democracy, a Report to the American Association for the International Commission of Jurists, New York, and the International Commission of Jurists, Geneva. His media appearances included several national and international television programs focusing on South Africa, among them "The Today Show." He was a panelist on the National Humanities Center's fall program on "Black and White in America" and a dinner speaker at the first American Issues Forum at the Center. He chaired the American Bar Association Presidential Working Group on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children and Their Families and spoke to the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia bar associations on a book he co-authored, Children at Risk. He served as one of seven mediators invited by Nelson Mandela and Mangosuthu Buthelezi to come to South Africa to attempt to resolve differences on the proposed Constitution, and he was a member of the official United States Presidential Delegation attending the inaugural ceremonies for Mandela.